Former prep-school student found not guilty of most serious charges in elite-boarding-school rape case

Owen Labrie listens as his former classmates testify in Merrimack County Superior Court on Monday, August 24, 2015, in Concord, New Hampshire. AP Photo/Jim Cole A former student at elite boarding school St. Paul's School has been found not guilty of the main sexual-assault charges in a case that has garnered national attention, The New York Times reports.

He was found guilty of a misdemeanor statutory-rape charge and a charge related to using a computer to entice a minor.

The case attracted national attention because of the prominence of St. Paul's, an elite boarding school often compared to an Ivy League university, and the alleged assault's connection to a longstanding school tradition.

Labrie was charged with multiple misdemeanor and felony counts. He was found guilty of using the internet to seduce a minor, a class B felony, as well as the statutory-rape charge.

By finding Labrie guilty on the misdemeanor counts, the jury acknowledged that despite his denial they believed the girl that there was sexual penetration.

The girl testified that Labrie penetrated her with his penis, mouth, and fingers. However, it appears the jury could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that she'd communicated that she didn't consent to the sex.

The class B felony carries a potential seven-year sentence, and the misdemeanors each carry up to a one-year sentence and fines, according to local reports.

The freshman was prominently featured in capital letters on a list of girls for his "senior salute" — "a school ritual in which older students proposition younger ones for as much intimacy as they can get away with: a kiss, touching, or more," according to The Times.

Senior male students allegedly compete to see who could "score" with the most younger females at St. Paul's, keeping track of the sexual encounters on an online messaging board, according to the Associated Press.

Labrie allegedly told police he was "trying to be number one."

Labrie wept in court as the charges were read on Friday. Via NECN Livestream

Labrie was accused of taking her to a mechanical room on campus whose key is passed down and shared by senior students. Prosecutors argued in court that the female student resisted when Labrie attempted to take her underwear off in the closet and, despite that, he then had sex with her, according to The Times.

Labrie may still face jail time for the misdemeanor charges and may be placed on a sex offender registry.